Neither Rain Nor Gloom of Night

Note: This is an approximation of the content of seminar that took
place on September 18th, 2006. The actual seminar was a more
interactive
discussion.
Today I'm going to talk about bicycle commuting in the rain and the
dark. I'm going to talk about safety and comfort but I want to make it
clear that I'm not going to promise that you'll be perfectly safe or
perfectly comfortable when you are out riding through a dark and rainy
night. There are no guarantees in life but I hope that some of what we
talk about here will prove useful.

Safety at Night

First off, let's look at the big question: are you really running a
greater risk by cycling at night (or in the rain) than you are in broad
daylight? I've looked at the numbers and I've ridden lots and lots of
miles in all kinds of conditions and the best answer I've come up with
is "I don't know." Here's the thing, if you look at cycling
accidents after dark and factor out the folks who fail to do two simple
things, you can actually make the case that it may be safer
to ride at night than in the daytime! Again, I don't know this for
certain but at the very least you do decrease your chances of an
accident by doing these two simple things:

Have working lights and reflectors on your bicycle.

Wear light colored and/or reflective clothing

OK, You'd think that both of these things would fall in the "well,
duh!" category but most after-dark cycling accidents involve riders who
fail to do these two simple things. Now obviously drivers and cyclists
have decreased visibility in the rain and the dark, but lights,
reflectors and light colored clothing can make you stand out against a
dark background and that contrast is the key to safety.

Lack of contrast can be a real problem twice a day -- dawn and dusk.
Morning and evening glare from the rising and setting sun can make
these times the most hazardous for commuting and I try to be extra
vigilant when I'm riding through sunrise or sunset. I often try
to flex my schedule earlier or later to avoid riding at these
times.

I commute to work every day, rain or shine, summer or winter and I get
to see a lot of cyclists riding at night. Much of the advice I'm going
to dispense today is based on what I've figured out that works for me
and what I've seen working for other cyclists.

Let's talk for a bit about the bike. Riding through the winter is hard
on your bike. Rain plus road grit puts a lot of wear on your bike and
many riders in this part of the world have a "rain bike" and save their
"go fast" bike for the nice days. I don't have any "go fast" bikes. All
my bikes are "rain bikes."

Fenders

The main thing that distinguishes a rain bike is fenders. Fenders keep
most of the road spray off you and if they are properly designed they
keep a lot of the grit off your bike and your fellow riders as well.
Unfortunately many "go fast" bikes these days suffer from what I call
"California bike syndrome" and lack adequate clearances for mounting
fenders or the ability to run fatter tires. If you do want to equip
your fast bike for rain riding there are some clever local shops that
can do amazing things when it comes to fitting fenders. If you are
frugal, have a do-it-yourself nature and a less than refined sense of
aesthetics, I've prepared a page describing how to make a set of
lightweight bike fenders from recycled coroplast campaign signs.
http://www.carsstink.org/peterson/FendForYourself.html

Tires

Flat tires are no fun anytime but they can be really miserable
in the rain. As fate would have it, you really are more likely to have
a flat tire when it's raining because of a variety of factors. First
off, it's harder to see debris when it's wet, so you are more likely to
run over something nasty. Secondly, the water can help the crud stick
to your tire for more than one revolution giving a nasty object more
chances to puncture your tire. Finally, water acts like a lubricant on
the cutting surface so sharp and pointy things are have an easier time
penetrating the rubber of your tire.

There are several things you can do to decrease your chances of
punctures including things like using Mister Tuffies (thick plastic
belts that you place between the tire and the inner tube) or you could
use a device called a tire-saver which is a small, flexible wire that
rides just above the surface of the tire and theoretically skims the
nasty things away before they have a chance to penetrate the tire.
Another option is to use self-healing Slime tubes. Slime tubes still
puncture but they are filled with a liquid goo that can seal small
punctures. The downside with Slime tubes is that if you have a big
puncture, the Slime can't seal it and the slimy mess makes it almost
impossible to apply a standard patch.

I've used all the above items and basically I've figured out that the
best thing is to just run tough tires. Probably the toughest tires on
the market today are Specialized Armadillos. Armadillos have a very
thick rubber casing and an Aramid belt. Kevlar is Dupont's trademarked
name for Aramid fabric and a lot of folks are familiar with Kevlar
because of it's use in bullet-proof vests. But stopping a bullet and
stopping something sharp and pokey like a chunk of glass or the sharp
end of a nail are two different things. Small sharp objects can spread
between the weave of Kevlar fibers so just because a tire has a Kevlar
belt doesn't make it impervious to flatting. In the Armadillo tires,
the Aramid belt is denser than most other Kevlar belted tires and that,
coupled with the thick rubber casing makes the tire so tough. The
downside is that Armadillo tires are quite heavy and slow. Some people
absolutely cannot stand the ride of these tires. Also, the stiffness of
Armadillo tires makes them hard to mount on some rims. But in terms of
flat resistance, they are definitely among the best. In my experience
Schwalbe Marathon XR tires ride a bit better than Specialized
Armadillos and are also extremely long wearing and flat resistant.
Continental used to make a tire called the Top Touring which was quite
good and rode quite nicely but that tire has recently been replaced by
the Continental Contact. A lot of folks in the Seattle International
Randonneurs swear by Continental Gatorskins. Avocet also makes some
very good touring tires but Avocet has an odd distribution system which
makes it hard to find bike shops that have them in stock. I'm sure
there are other good tires out there but in general for wet weather
commuting I look for the fattest, toughest tire that will fit on
my bike.

Brake pads, Rims and Disk Brakes

Your stopping distance will be greater when it's wet out but good brake
pads can make the most of your braking. Also the combination of rain
and road grit can wear away your brake pads and your rims at an
alarming rate. The best brake pads I've found for wet weather are
Koolstop Salmon pads. The salmon refers to the color of the pads, a
reddish orange like the flesh of a salmon and the color comes from the
iron-oxide that is used in the rubber in these brake pads. Koolstop
salmon pads stop better and wear longer than any other brake pad I've
used, so that's why I recommend them. Also, they tend not to get as
much grit embedded in them (I don't know why) so they help your rims
last longer.

Speaking of rims, rims do wear out in this part of the world. My
friends from California and other sunnier climes are amazed when I tell
them this but it's true. If you ride year-round and use rim brakes,
keep an eye on how much your rims are wearing. If your brakes start
telegraphing a pulsing sensation as you come to a stop, don't ignore
that. There is a good chance that your rims have thinned to a dangerous
level and few things are more exciting than having a bike rim blow out
at speed. It's more excitement than most folks prefer, so I like to
warn people about the danger. These days you can get disk brakes on
some bikes and if you are looking at getting a new commuter bike, it is
an option worth considering.

Lights and reflectors

If you ride at night, you need lights and reflectors. What kind of
lights, how many and how powerful are subjects we can debate, but you
do need lights. The law requires it and a basic sense of
self-preservation mandates the use of lights as well.

Bike lights serve two functions, they let you see where you are going
and they let other road users see you. Both functions are vitally
important and one really good thing you can do is have someone ride or
drive with you at night to see how your lights are reflective gear are
working in the real world. Your own eyes will tell you if you have
enough light to see by. Other peoples eyes are needed so you know how
well you are making yourself seen.

There are some tremendously high-powered bicycle headlights on the
market these days but these may or may not be the best choice for
commuting. First off, the strongest light in the world is useless if it
has a dead battery. Second, a light that is great for navigating dark,
single track in Capitol Forest may absolutely blind your fellow
commuters on the Burke Gilman trail. More isn't always better.

While more isn't always better, I am a fan of having redundant
lighting. I have a headlight and tail light on my bike, a headlight and
tail light on my helmet and a third tail light on my waist pack. Lots
of lights. When we talk about clothing I'll go into more detail about
the lights I wear but for now lets talk about bike lights.

You need a front white light. This can be an HID light, a halogen light
and these days white LED lights are getting better and better. I mostly
won't get into brands here, things are changing really fast in the
light world and different people have different needs. I will say that
Watts are a stupid way to measure lights. Comparing lights by comparing
their Watts is like deciding which car is best solely by how fast it
sucks down gas. Also different lights have different beam patterns.
I've seen great 3 Watt lights that put more light on the road than some
other 10 Watt lights. And LEDs in general run at much lower power than
halogen lights.

One thing I have noticed on my commute is that riders who use white
flashing LED lights are very noticeable. The part of our eyes
responsible for night vision, the rods, are also used in our most
sensitive motion detection and our peripheral vision. The flashing is
simulated motion and it draws our attention. The downside to the
flashing is that it makes it harder to judge the distance of an object,
so it is harder to estimate the precise location and closing speed of a
flashing object. Also there is a theory that flashing lights draw the
attention of drunks, like moths to a flame, so proponents of that
theory favor solid, non-flashing lights. I split the difference and run
multiple lights, some flashing and some solid. The inexpensive red tail
light has really improved in the past few years. LEDs are going through
a price/performance evolution similar to what is happening with
computer chips so the current lights tend to be brighter and last
longer than the best lights from 18 months ago.

A very neat lighting solution is the dynamo hub. Unlike the cheap,
high-friction rim generators lights you might remember from your youth,
modern hub generators are nearly frictionless, always ready and
basically trouble free. About the only downside is that they can be
kind of pricey. The Schmidt Dynamo front hub (also known as SON) is a
wonderful piece of equipment and Shimano makes a cheaper (but not quite
as nice) generator hub as well. In this area, Sammamish Valley Cycle
has probably sold more SON systems than anybody (I used to work there,
so perhaps I'm biased). For more info on hub dynamos as well as info on
other nice lighting options, check out Peter White's page at:

One more easy, cheap and effective thing to do to your bike is to add
reflective tape to various surfaces. I have red reflective tape on my
rear fender and various bits of white reflective tape elsewhere. I try
to have tape that will reflect from all directions, including the side.
Reflective tape on rotating surfaces, like cranks and the inner rims of
wheels is highly visible. I also have various strips of reflective tape
on my helmet. Finally, I have a 6 inch reflective yellow triangle that
hangs on the back of my left rear pannier. It seems like, day or night,
that reflective triangle sends a signal to passing motorists to leave
me a bit more room.

Clothing for Commuting

There's a saying that "there is no bad weather, just bad clothing." As
someone who commutes on nice days and crappy days, I really can't
agree. The best clothes in the world won't make a rainy night in
December as nice as a morning in July but the right clothes can make a
bad day better. And the wrong clothes can make a bad night really nasty.

Helmet

Starting at the top, I wear a helmet. As I've said on more
than one occasion, I'm not going to go into any helmet debates here.
If you want to debate helmets, I can point you to some heated helmet
debates that are happening on the Internet right now. But today, we're
not going to debate the issue. The law in King County is that cyclists
wear helmets and I'm a law-abiding citizen. I also have found on a
couple of occasions that my helmet has helped me keep my skull intact.
And it's a handy place to attach a mirror and lights. So, if you are
riding on the
streets of King County, get a helmet. All bicycle helmets have to meet
the same crash standards. They vary in price based on things like fit,
venting and style but the main thing I look for in a helmet is that it
fits securely and comfortably on my head.

As I mentioned, my helmet has reflective tape on it and I have a
headlight zip-tied to the front of it. My headlight is a Princeton Tec
EOS and it's weather-proof, bright, lightweight and wonderful. It cost
about $40 at REI and it's one of those things that I really, really
like. If you want to read more of my ravings of how wonderful this
light is, check out my blog at:

I also have a tail light attached to the back of my helmet and the two
lights kind of balance each other out.

Cap

I'm also a big fan of the classic cycling cap and I wear one under my
helmet all the time. On rainy days the brim of the cap helps keep water
off my glasses and on sunny days the brim keeps the glare out of my
eyes. At night I find that by tilting
my the cap brim works well to block the worst of the glare from
oncoming headlights.

Eye wear

I wear my normal prescription glasses for all my riding and most
cyclists prefer riding with some kind of eye wear. I don't have much to
say on the subject other than the "well duh" advice that clear or light
colored lenses are best for riding at night. Also, some cyclists
believe that Polarized lenses are not good for cycling precisely
because they filter out glare. A cyclist often uses glare to spot
broken glass or a wet spot on the road and Polarized lenses remove this
data.

Ear Band

A lightweight ear band can really add a lot of comfort on a damp or
cold day. For most of the winter I use a little tube of Coolmax
polyester called a Buff. I roll it to varying thicknesses depending on
the temperature. If it's really cold, I may replace the buff with a
fleece headband.

Gloves

My favorite winter gloves are wool knit gloves. Even when they get wet,
they stay warm and I can wring them out and keep riding. I've tried
various waterproof gloves and they either leak or get wet from sweat
and then I get cold. With the wool, I'm damp but comfortable.

Over the wool gloves I wear a pair of GloGlovs

I first saw GloGlovs being used by
Washington State Ferry workers. A nice lady named Lynette Waneke Gray
makes GloGlovs down in Oregon and you can go to her website at:

For my base layer I tend to favor thin wool jerseys or wool t-shirts.
Some folks prefer various wicking synthetics, although some synthetic
fabrics like polypro have a nasty tendency to retain odors. For years
climbers have sworn by Patagonia's Capilene and the Patagonia folks
worked hard to make Capilene into a "stinkless" synthetic. The one
fabric that I really try to avoid for cycling wear is cotton. A cotton
t-shirt is fine for warm summer days but in the winter it just gets wet
and clammy and sucks all the heat away from you.

For pants I wear lycra cycling shorts under Suplex nylon shorts or
pants. I also use lycra arm and leg warmers depending on how warm or
cold things are. In the spring and fall, it's often cool enough in the
morning for long sleeves but much warmer by the time the evening
commute rolls around. Arm and leg warmers take up much less space in a
pack than full tights and a long sleeve jersey.

Shells and Pants

When it's wet or cold I wear a shell layer, either a jacket or a vest.
My rain jacket is yellow. My vest is yellow. I'm not particularly fond
of yellow but it is a very noticeable color. Bright orange or lime
green are good as well but I always advise people to get rain gear in
bright colors. I see people commuting in dark blue or black jackets and
they just blend in with the rain. If you do have a favorite dark jacket
(and I have a black Marmot windshirt that's just great!) wear it with a
bright vest or a reflective sash.

As for specific jackets, I really like a very cheap, light jacket
called the Rainshield O2. Their $35 jacket works surprisingly well and
it's about the lightest rain jacket on the market. I also have their
heavier, pricier jacket and it's also quite good. A company called
Burley just restructured and won't be making rain wear anymore but
their jackets are very good and many commuters swear by them. So if you
want a Burley, get 'em while you can. Showers Pass makes good stuff as
well and so does Jackson & Gibbons. If you get up to Canada, check
out some of the jackets at MEC and locally REI has a pretty good
selection of jackets.

I really haven't found a true rain pant that I like. The problem is,
it's mostly too warm hear and most rain pants get to clammy. Goretex
may be waterproof and breathable if you aren't too active but I find
that for cycling it tends to get overwhelmed trying to vent sweat and
so I get clammy. For jackets I prefer things that are more breathable
(or have big vents and arm-pit zippers) and for my legs I either just
use lycra leg warmers or warmers together with nylon chaps called
Rainlegs.

I reviewed a few items for the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association,
including the Rainshield O2 and Rainlegs and you can read those reviews
here:

I wish I could tell you the secret to keeping your feet warm and dry on
a wet commute, but I don't have a perfect solution. As I've found with
gloves, I can be fairly happy albeit somewhat damp by using a layer of
wool. I wear wool socks all the time. Depending on conditions I may
over layer the wool with a Sealskins sock or some kind of over-boot but
ultimately water seems to seep. I have friends who swear by the
combination of Shimano sandals, wool socks and a Goretex over
sock.

Probably the best advice I can give you is to have a spare pair of
socks. Few things match the luxury of slipping into a pair of dry socks
at the end of a wet commute. And I figure you've already worked out
that it's best to leave your work shoes at work, right?

Finally, reflective ankle bands are another cheap but very noticeable
addition to the cyclists wardrobe. The flash of yellow or orange draws
the eye and the spinning motion helps drivers identify that flashing
thing up ahead as a cyclist.

Final Advice

Remember that everyone's visibility is lowered in the rain. Even if
it's daylight, I tend to turn my lights on in the rain. When it's wet,
slow down. Not all your fellow riders may be as well lit as you and wet
roads can be treacherous. Watch out for man-hole covers, railroad
tracks, metal bridge decks, painted fog lines and leaves. All these
things can be wickedly slippery when wet. Be careful out there.